Jacob Kopnick

Latvian citizen Oleg Chistyakov was charged with violating U.S. export laws as part of a scheme to ship "sophisticated avionics equipment" to Russian companies, DOJ announced last week. The agency noted Chistyakov is the third person to be charged in connection to the scheme, which was led by Kansas company KanRus Trading Co.

Switzerland-based international commodities trading firm Trafigura Beheer will pay over $126 million after pleading guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing Brazilian government officials to obtain business with state-owned oil company Petrobras, DOJ announced.

The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation March 28 issued a general license allowing certain wind-down transactions and insurance-related transactions with certain vessels managed by sanctioned shipping company Active Denizcilik ve Gemi Isletmeciligi Anonim Sirketi. The license also authorizes certain transactions between Active Denizcilik and insurers that help the company's vessels reach their port of discharge or a safe port to discharge cargo that was onboard as of March 28. The license expires June 11.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia earlier this month granted the U.S. motion for forfeiture of about $17 million from Iraqi airline Al-Naser Airlines, representing the amount of laundered payments involved in the company's scheme to evade export controls and sanctions by "illicitly procuring U.S.-origin aircraft for the benefit of an Iranian airline [Mahan Air]." The court said that the government "fulfilled its notice obligations" prior to a forfeiture and that the complaint against the airline's funds contains verified allegations that "establish the facts necessary to support a civil forfeiture" (U.S. v. $3,435,935 of Funds From Al-Naser Airlines, D.D.C. # 15-01687).

The U.K. on March 27 amended Svetlana Alexandrovna Krivonogikh's listing under the Russia sanctions regime. Krivonogikh is a shareholder of Russian bank Bank Rossiya, which is a "significant stakeholder in National Media Group," which controls major TV stations in Russia that "promote the destabilisation of Ukraine." Her entry was amended to provide a new national identification number.

The U.K. High Court of Justice on March 27 ruled that VTB Commodites, the commodities wing of sanctioned bank VTB Bank, doesn't have "any right of redemption" in escrow payments in a dispute over the ownership of vacuum gas oil (VGO) cargo.

The European Council on March 25 added Mohamed Ibrahim al-Shafi'i Al-Salem, the leader of the ISIL-affiliated group Islamic State Sahel Province, to its ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaeda sanctions regime, the council announced. The ISIL affiliate mainly operates in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.

China opened a case at the World Trade Organization against the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act's rules for electric vehicle subsidies and "other measures," the nation's Ministry of Commerce announced March 26, according to an unofficial translation.

A World Trade Organization dispute panel found that certain elements of Australian antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings on wind towers, deep drawn stainless steel sinks and railway wheels from China violate WTO commitments. Issuing its findings March 26, the panel recommended that Australia bring its measures into conformity with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.

Zhiwei "Allen" Liao was sentenced to 51 months in prison and ordered to pay $120,370 for his role in an "international conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit Apple products," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California announced March 25. He also was ordered to forfeit two residences and 200 Apple devices.